Done Stealing
by stoptheangst
Summary: Can Julian Baker finally learn if his fiance, Peyton Sawyer still has lingering feelings for Lucas Scott. Is it just a book for her or will trying to humiliate her in front of his friends backfire. L/L/J/P square.


_"I had the chance to say_

_Remove the walls, let's clean the slate_

_Would it make us new"_

Julian Baker rolled over to reach out for the only blonde he'd ever dated. Her cold empty side of the bed greeted him instead.

Big surprise he thought. He sat up as a gentle breeze curled about his toes. He knew immediately exactly where she was and what she was doing. He sighed inwardly. In just several hours he was going to be either a completely happy or a completely miserable man. He turned to his side to watch her on their bedroom balcony. Her smile curled around her lips as she wrapped a curl about her finger. Her head tilted to the side as she re-read for about the thousandth time words another man had for her. Julian let the thick jealousy course through his veins before letting out a labored sigh. He had finally let asked a friend to read that book and they said they could completely understand why she had gone 'fangirl' for the ex. He was a good writer, a great artist and apparently he'd always be in love with her. Who wouldn't be?

He let out loud morning groan escape his lips. He watched as she discreetly cocked her head to the bedroom before leaning forward for a plastic bag. He watched her, a dorky smile painted on his lips, as she stuffed the book in a bag and then lifted the plant out of the pot holder to hide it. She was completely adorable when she did silly stuff like that. As if he wouldn't notice the trails of dirt on the balcony from the pot. At last she tried to hide it and not flaunt in his face. He pretended to just roll over as she cautiously entered their bedroom.

'Morning babe,' she said sweetly,' ready for another big night.'

'Yeah, I'm completely holding my breath on this one,' he said with another of his doofy smiles.

She leaned forward and lit up his world with her smile, her blond curls brushing his chest. The silken hair sent tingles up and down his spine softening the anger and resentment he had toward her.

'I love you, Julian Baker, and you are going to just fine,' she said sweetly. Her green eyes sparkled as he leaned up to kiss her. The soft lips melted against his and he could taste her morning mint tea. Mint tea she had with the thought of _him. _He grew angry all over again the thought that he was still sharing her heart after several years of loving her. He flipped her over seeking to prove to himself that no man could take her from him.

_"Should we find a way to start_

_Without the mess we've made this far_

_Would it make us new"_

He watched satisfied as she cried out and wriggled beneath his gaze. Her breath came raggedly as she breathed his name and dirty obscenities that only intensified with his ministrations. He was addicted to the way she bit her lip and ran fingers through his hair. This was his only treatment for it. He needed her to need him, yell his name the way only she could. He could feel her body clench tightly about him her fingers digging into his shoulder blades. He leaned down to leave his mark but the movement almost rendered him useless as her hips ground into him. God he loved her so much.

'Release it baby, come for me,' he whispered in her ear. She did and she took him with her. He lay there panting as she sank into his body. He cradled her underneath him as she moved gingerly to her side. He smirked to himself. This had happened before. She hadn't been able to stand upright in heels for days after that. Her lips caught his distracting him. Her light purr in his mouth let him know he was far from finished for the morning.

_"I've seen this once before_

_Don't need to see the end, no"_

Lucas Scott stood in front of the large ocean front beach house waiting for his fiance to exit the cab. Lindsey was ecstatic that a movie producer of this stature was interested in his book. Apparently his fiance was a huge fan of it. It was one of her favorites. He looked over the Malibu estate as guests trailed in through the open door. He could care less really. He only wanted to know how _she_ felt about it. He hadn't the pleasure to find out. His best friend and brother heard from her often as did Brooke. He, of course, only heard from them minimally and they barely spoke of her. Lindsey was the cause of that. Always dragging him to meet people who wanted to make money off of him. Never giving him time for the things he cared about. Sometimes he would count the hours till she left the apartment they shared in Soho just so he could exhale.

'Come on Luke you ready,' Lindsey said excitedly.

He smiled softly and nodded. Here goes nothing. There goes life.

----------------

Julian watched with a grin as Peyton gingerly shifted from guest to guest. He could only hope and pray that her subtle stumbling wouldn't go unnoticed by her number one fan. Her innocent smile brightened as she and some of her friends laughed infamously at each other. All she knew about tonight's purpose was that he was having the party to convince a recluse of a writer to turn their book into a movie. She hadn't really asked details but she knew it was a big deal for him. After all he had opened up their home for the party. He had never done that before so this was huge. She was barely balanced in those heels of hers.

He turned to a conversation with some of his peers and they discussed the budget for this new film he was working on. It was a jovial conversation. Nothing demanding, nothing arrogant, simply a lazy negotiation of the budget between the alpha ceos of the studio. He spied the short blonde spikes as they entered the door to his home. The girl beside him was tugging him closely clearly in awe of her surroundings. He smiled at their enclasped hands and his grin spread wider as he caught the glint on her finger. _So he had finally moved on_ he thought smugly.

Words could not describe the new level of elation he felt.

_"I can't get away and you will never leave me_

_Addicted to the game, it's time to make it easy"_

'Hey Lucas Scott glad you could make it. Julian Baker,' he said thrusting his hand forward.

Lucas took the hand cautiously choosing to ignore Lindsey's evident arousal for the other man. She eyed him lustily before let her emotions drain from her face.

'I hear your fiance's a big fan,' Lucas said lightly. Lindsey smiled up at him, leaning into his shoulder. He hated when she did that. It seems so cliche. She wasn't that type to do the couple pose. They weren't that mushy couple type.

'Oh yeah, let me introduce you guys,' Julian said feigning ignorance,' But first let me introduce you to some of the guys from the studio. They read the book and they loved. I'll be reading it later.'

Lucas caught the small remark at the end and couldn't help but bristle. Here was another guy that thought his name was Greek for income.

_There was no need to push this guy,_ Julian thought. His fiance was doing most of the work for him, anyway. She was impressed with the home and her eye wondered over it greedily. Put her in a conversation with his close friends at Lionsgate and they would have the contract ready in an hour. He chatted with Lucas for a moment before letting his friend Evan take over. The woman introduced herself but Julian missed the name. He was far too excited to see the look on Lucas's face when he introduced Peyton as _his_ fiance.

He politely excused himself to go find Peyton. She was seated outside by herself on the veranda overlooking the ocean. Her right hand idly played with her left fourth finger. It was a habit that irritated him to no end. _He_ was on her mind, not himself.

_"I can't get enough, so I have to do the right thing_

_And give you back 'cause I'm done stealin'"_

'Hey babe what's on your mind,' he asked hoping for once she would be honest with him.

'Nothing just us,' she said quietly. He stared into the green eyes to check to see if she was lying. _Not all the way,_ he thought to himself. She leaned forward to peck his lips but he chose to make his point clear. He let the kiss deepen a little mussing her loose curls. He let his hands travel up her skirt and he heard her his in his ear.

'Julian we have company... a lot of company,' she said blushing something furious.

'Yeah I know,' he said devilishly forgetting his original intent for finding her. He let his fingers delve into her heat the moistening growing with his strokes. A ragged breath left her lips as she tried to pull away. She hated when he did this in public as if she were some sort of toy for his pleasure only. He looked over her shoulder and caught the blonde spikes nursing a Corona in his grip. The guy look thoroughly bored and he realized he had seen that look on Peyton's face often. His resolve grew with her intoxicating groans. He took the fingers out abruptly causing her to whimper. His eyes bored into hers possessively as he stuck his guilty digits in her mouth. Her tongue swirled over them deliciously and it took all he had to get his next sentence out.

'Oh babe the writer is here. I know you're gonna want to say hello,' he said throwing her a disarming smile.

She rose slowly and he couldn't help but laugh. She playfully shoved him a little before letting her hands graze about him suggestively.

'Wait till all these people leave. I'll teach you not to mess with me for real,' she said wagging a slender finger at him.

He grasped her hand and led them into the home stopping to greet a few of their friends on the way. She still hadn't noticed him and Julian was relishing the fact. He just wanted to see her face. That's all he needed.

_"If someone looked into our case_

_And said our files could be erased_

_Would that make us new"_

Lucas sat uncomfortably as Lindsey charmed the socks of the studio execs. She smiled and leaned forward the right way, told the perfunctory work jokes. He remembered when he used to be impressed with this sort of thing from her. He was in awe at her poise and grace but the truth was he didn't really know her. She was like this all the time. Completely witty and charismatic with always the right thing to say. The perfection made him close himself up afraid that if she saw the real him she'd leave. After all people always leave, right. He caught sight of blonde curls out of his peripherals but he chose not to bother. He had grown accustomed to seeing curls but never the right ones. They were always off somehow. He learned not to snap his head in anticipation, the fights at home with Lindsey were too exhausting.

'Oh hello guys, Lucas this is my fiance Peyton, Peyton this is Lucas Scott,' Julian's voice stirred him from his thoughts.

He had heard what the man said but it hadn't registered. He turned to ask him to repeat the question but he caught site of her instead. Her green eyes were dark and jaded as his brow creased. She bit her lip and forced a smile to her lips. He could barely move, his mouth was dry. She wasn't expecting this at all and he could see a dull furor growing as a deep wound was freshly ripped open. His eyes perused her in the slate blue dress he was sure Brooke had been showing Lindsey a month ago at her studio in New York. It fit her perfectly barely hiding the love bruise on her collarbone. A spot only HE was supposed to know about. He looked at his fiance whose face was snarled in clear disgust, watching him intently for his reaction. Of course Lindsey knew exactly who she was. He smiled, dipped his head and walked away.

_"Just tell me when and where to sign_

_I'll check in and do the time_

_And tell the truth"_

'Wow what's got into him,' Julian quipped.

'I don't know Julian. The poor guy was probably overwhelmed,' Peyton said smiling up at him. The execs laughed nervously before the smart one ventured into dangerous territory.

'Maybe you remind him of the girl from the book. Her name was Peyton Sawyer too,' they said laughing a little. Lindsey's forced laugh was the second warning bell as awkward looks were exchanged. As for Julian, Julian was somewhat speechless. He couldn't read Peyton Sawyer at all. Her smile was wide as she greeted Lindsey warmly taking in her ring. It was too right, too perfect. There was no clear reaction to judge as she wriggled her eyebrows and made a couple of witty remarks to their friends.

-----------------------------

Lucas stood on the veranda of the beach house struggling for air. He didn't know what to think anymore. Lindsey must have known that Peyton would be here. She was constantly testing him, constantly questioning him. Whenever he disagreed with her she would compare how'd react if Peyton were asking or if Peyton didn't like it. It was petty but he figured he deserved it. It was punishment for walking away instead of staying to fight. Dan's sneer of disappointment and shame haunted him in those moments. Now she had set him up, throwing it in his face that Peyton had moved on like he had. He sighed thinking about those green eyes. She was angry with him and it was all his fault.

_"Cause I've seen this movie twice before_

_Don't need to see the end, no"_

She was still so very angry with him. She sat on the dryer letting it whir beneath her. The heat radiated underneath her thighs soothing her muscles from her morning 'activities'. She'd left Julian to schmooze with the studio execs and _her_ without letting on how she really felt. He was always testing her but this was the last straw. She didn't know what she was going to do. She needed to find a job and an apartment quick. She would play it cool as if it was nothing but she needed to leave Julian. The jealousy and the angry sex was too much to handle regularly. Now this. What next? Would he invite him to their wedding? Well fuck that. There wasn't going to be a wedding after this.

_"I can't get away and you will never leave me_

_Addicted to the game, it's time to make it easy"_

Lindsey smiled awkwardly at her new found acquaintances. She continued to chide and joke with them and discuss other writers. They were a knowledgeable lot and she could tell she would have really loved LA. They had her exchanging numbers before she knew it. Julian had stayed in the conversation and she watched him out the corner of her eye. He was charming and sweet like Lucas but in a clearly more mischievious way. The other eye made sure Lucas stayed solo on the veranda. The conversation finally turned to other things. This was her chance to light into this Julian character for all the damage he'd caused.

'I can't believe you set me up like this,' she hissed and then turned to the kitchen for a drink.

He followed curiously noticing her shapely figure.

'Set **you** up. Really I thought I was setting **them** up,' he hissed back.

'He's going to think I knew about this,' Lindsey said over her shoulder as she opened her beer,' That I knew that she was with you. He's going to think I did this on purpose. He won't do the movie now, knowing you were with her.'

Julian watched smiling. Peyton hated beer. This one didn't look like the type of girl that would.

'Peyton won't let him give it up. I have no idea why your upset, we can get all our questions answered tonight. Now I get to see where her head is at before I get married to her. Don't you want to do the same. You can't say that you don't,' Julian said with a laugh that crawled up Lindsey's neck.

Lindsey eyed him and shook her head. It wasn't about where their heads were. It was their hearts. He didn't get that...he mustn't have read the book or else he would've never thought this bright idea would work.

'God you are so stupid. Don't you get it. It's always going to be there for them,' Lindsey said with a scoff, 'They are the type of people who hold onto the past to decide their futures. We are lucky if they stay with us for a month after this.'

Julian held his head down in remorse realizing she knew Peyton better than he did. He wanted Peyton bad and nobody else. Sure their were the times he strayed but Peyton was blissfully unaware of that. After all this was Hollywood. Everybody strayed...everybody except Peyton Sawyer. He wanted to possess her solely. He didn't understand why he had to share. What did that man have that he didn't?

Lindsey eyed for a moment then laughed callously.

'You didn't read the book did you,' she said bitterly,' God she sure knows how to pick the dumb ones.'

_"I can't get enough, so I have to o the right thing_

_And give you back 'cause I'm done stealin'"_

'What do you mean the dumb ones,' Julian said growing indignant,' I produce films and movies and Lucas writes books and movies. How are we dumb.'

'You both live in obvious states of denial. I'm just stupid enough to believe that he could love me the way he loves her.'

'So then why do you stay,' Julian challenged her. She was a pretty girl that was pissing him off. That was such a turn on he hadn't turned down in a while. She was tall like Peyton and their was something gentle about her smile. He liked the way it actually reached her eyes.

'It's hard to admit you're second...especially when someone is trying to convince you that you are first,' Lindsey said wagging her hand in front of him.

They were silent as they watched the other revelers socialize and laugh to one another. The distant buzzer of the dryer caught Julian's ears. It was almost as if it was signaling the game was over. The thought of it sounding like the final buzzer at the Staple Center forced him to admit it. He was going to have to give her back. She what wasn't his ever.

'If they got back together it would make for an awesome press junket,' Julian ventured with small tears in his eyes.

'Yeah the media would eat that up. True Love sells shit better than sex ever can,' Lindsey whispered looking at her ring.

They looked at each other gently. The light broke a little as their smiles faltered. Maybe it was better this way. Giving up a fight they couldn't hold on to. Admit they were second-hand picks and try to salvage the damage they had caused.

'I'll go get Lucas,' Julian said quietly,' Peyton's in the laundry room down the hall. It's where she goes to think.'

Lindsey nodded and made her way down the hall after he left the room. She thought better of it and returned with a strawberry daiquiri from the bar. Lucas had mentioned she liked strawberry daiquiri's once. She didn't bother to knock. It wasn't like she would've been well received.

'Hey,' Lindsey said handing her the drink.

Peyton eyed it suspiciously and Lindsey had to laugh a little. It would have been a great idea. But Lucas couldn't function if she was gone. He was barely functioning in New York without his family. If Peyton left the planet he'd lose it. She sighed and took swig from her Corona before hoisting herself up to the washer with her. Peyton eyed her defeated demeanor. Julian probably sent her to rub it in.

'Nice ring,' Lindsey whispered.

Peyton snorted a little, 'It's a little much. I was never the type of girl to be into Harry Winston like that. I'd much prefer Karen's ring.'

Lindsey looked down at her hand thinking about the woman that she should be close to.

'Karen's not a fan of me. Nobody is really,' she said quietly.

'Just give them time. They all went through a lot together but they'll love you just as much as he does,' Peyton said. She had no idea why she was so calm to this girl who had her life. Maybe it was because it was clearly what Lucas wanted and she secretly wanted him to be happy more than anything else. She eyed her sadly. She should be happy. Julian had money and was going to be famous. She was a kept woman, it should be enough. Lindsey eyed her in amazement for a moment. She would never had possessed that much grace.

_"I know that we can make our dreams come true_

_Is a crime committed? We misunderstood_

_Oh yeah, oh yeah_

_Cause I'm done stealin'"_

'He has this draw full of everything you ever gave him. Drawings, CD's, letters, a U2 t-shirt,' Lindsey said a tear slipping down her cheek. Peyton's head swiveled sharply to the other woman. The dryer whirred underneath her calming her tense muscles.

'He gave you Karen's ring from Keith. It's got to mean something,' Peyton said. This couldn't be happening. She couldn't come undone after so many years of burying her feelings. But the wounds had been ripped open fresh tonight. They were ripped open and he was with someone else. There was no way she was going to make it through the week. She needed her Brooke...bad.

'I think he wants it to, but it can't. He still loves you. You should be with him. He's not the best version of himself around me. He barely writes anything anymore,' Lindsey choked out in a sob.

Peyton found herself leaning over to give the other woman a warm hug. It was awkward really. Lucas was so stupid when he was scared. First Brooke and now this poor girl. The other girl was so perfect in every way. Why would Lucas want to give her up? She was nothing compared to this girl.

'He whispers your name in his sleep after we have a good day,' Lindsey said after some time,' I could choose to have an easy marriage. Pretend he loves me and take his kindness for granted. Easy is always enticing but I think I want what you two have. That's why I stayed so long I thought he could be that to me.'

Peyton sighed. Lucas Scott was a mess leaving broken hearts in his wake. But he was her mess and she loved him.

'I don't know if he's ready to talk to me,' Peyton said finally,' He wasn't ready to hear that there was someone else that I said yes to tonight. He's going to want to know why.'

'He proposed to you,' Lindsey asked quietly. He'd never told her that. He always had said it didn't work out and no one close to him ever gave her any details.

'I wasn't ready. We were 19. I think I am four years too late you know,' Peyton said shrugging.

Lindsey removed her ring. She handed it to Peyton realizing it was never hers to begin with. That was hard, letting go wasn't easy but she was ready to let it go. Peyton's mouth dropped her face confused at her actions her mouth working to say the right words. She was so much like him in some respects Lindsey thought bitterly. She waved off her silent words and then motioned for Peyton's left hand. Peyton frowned then smiled. Lindsey was a sweet, intuitive girl. Lucas Scott was either a natural fool or he really did lover her. She opted for the first considering he never bothered to wait for her.

'How could he not love you,' Peyton said sadly while she removed the expensive diamond from her fingers. Lindsey folded both rings in Peyton's hands tightly.

'Cause he is too busy in love with you to see me. And now after meeting you...I see why,' Lindsey said,' I would keep it if I were you and use the money to get yourself situated.'

The girls laughed softly together. Julian's ring was probably worth two year's salary if not a whole lot more. She could live off of it for a while. Lindsey slid off the washer with a small wave and exited the room.

_"If a jury read your mind_

_You'd go away for quite some time_

_Will that make us new"_

Julian cautiously came to stand next to him on the veranda. Lucas's fingers itched as he tried to hold back from punching this guy. He leaned forward gripping the porch railing inhaling the sea air. She belonged to someone else. She was getting married and the guy didn't even know he existed. But he had to have read the book if he wanted to turn it into a movie. He was flaunting Peyton in front of him. She wasn't to be flaunted...ever.

'I never read the book. I knew you wrote it but it was like if I read it then I would always compare things. Her reactions, my reactions. I didn't want that I just wanted her,' Julian spoke into the night air.

Lucas turned to look at him, his smoldering blues eyes livid. How could he not read the book. It explained who she was. He knew that the guy standing next to him didn't know her and couldn't tell she wasn't happy. Her eyes were her tell, the windows to her soul. Lucas remained silent for Peyton's sake. If she loved him enough to marry him then he was going to have to live with that. God knows he was given the chance to make things right. More time passed in silence as the waves lapped against the shore. Julian shifted a little to face the guy he wished he could be.

_"I can't get away and you will never leave me_

_Addicted to the game, it's time to make it easy"_

'She buys your book every time she sees it,' Julian said in a hard voice,' She's got them hidden all around the house where I can't see as if I don't know they are here. She has one hidden upstairs in the plant pot inside a ziplock so it won't get wet. She carries a copy in her purse too. I think its like book Farenheit 451. Like she's trying to commit it to memory or something.'

'So this was some sort of test for her,' Lucas snarled. He hated this guy for tampering with her the happiness she had built. He didn't deserve her but neither did he.

'Initially I guess but .... I don't deserve her. I thought a guy like me should but truth is I don't. I think I just resent her,' Julian spoke softly.

Lucas turned to him his temper flaring and swung before moving back into the house. He smiled and nodded and fell into a conversation with strangers as he raged on the inside. How could he resent her? She was everything he could possibly dream of in one person, the perfect girl. Who could have it in them to actually hate her? She was a good soul with a kind heart. He took in the walls for the first time noticing her artwork spilling all over the house. How he didn't notice it at first he couldn't understand. She had touched his soul and someone else's but somehow she only let him in. That had to count for something. Lucas eyes narrowed as they focused in on a copy of his book discretely tucked at the top of a built in bookshelf. He loved her but he couldn't have her. It wasn't fair to Lindsey.

A soft tap on his shoulder caused him to look down into soft brown eyes. Guilt coursed through him as her smile faltered.

'Hey,' he said quietly. Peyton was too good for him, he didn't deserve her. They both were to good for him.

'I think you should go talk to her. She's in the laundry room,' Lindsey whispered.

'Linds now's not the place. We'll talk about it when we get back,' he whispered back. He was angry. She had to have known that Julian Baker was engaged to Peyton Sawyer. She just knew things like that about people. He refused to believe she was ignorant of it.

_"I can't get enough, so I have to do the right thing_

_And give you back 'cause I'm done stealin' "_

Lindsey shook her head with a gentle sweet smile. He was making this so hard for all of them.

'I want you to go talk to her. I know you think I planned this but I didn't. However I'm just glad its over. She's in the laundry, she has Karen's ring. So you have to talk to her Lucas,' Lindsey said before placing a final gentle kiss to his lips.

His heart sunk. She had left him. It was inevitable. People always leave.

-----

_"I can't get away and you will never leave me_

_Addicted to the game, it's time to make it easy"_

He stood in front of the laundry room debating on whether to go in. The crowd had thinned out due to the late hour. Julian and a few revelers were on the porch joking and laughing. He could hear Lindsey's laugh among them. He heard a light shuffling on the other side of the door as the buzzer to the dryer sounded in his ear for the third time since he had been standing there. The door swung open and he saw her backside retreating back to her perch on the dryer.

He looked at her his mouth dry his hands shoved deep in his pockets. She shot him her furrowed glare that he missed dearly. Her eyes told him to _hurry the hell up and close the door behind him_. Lucas finally entered the door and leaned up against the wall opposite of her.

Peyton's hand reached out, the tan lines were her ring had been clearly visible. He looked into her hand to see the ring that another woman had worn only hours earlier. The ring that he had used to propose to her. The ring that should be on her finger now. His hand falters as he takes it. Maybe he should tell her to keep it. They say nothing for another twenty minutes letting the lazy night laughter drift into the room above the whir of the dryer.

' I hate the thought that someone else has touched you the way I have,' Lucas said bitterly.

She eyes him and scoffs, 'Not that it is _any_ of your business but nobody touches me the way you do.'

He starts at the bitter admission. He loves her, always has, always will.

'I miss you everyday,' he whispers looking into her eyes.

They connect on the deeper level and just like the tide leaving the beach outside their sins are washed away. The transgressions they have committed against one another are forgiven and all they have left is their firm foundation to build upon.

_"I can't get enough, so I have to do the right thing_

_And give you back 'cause I'm done stealin' "_

' I hate knowing that you pledged to love honor and cherish anyone but me with the same ring you intended for us,' she said quietly. Her head was down she couldn't keep contact with him anymore.

' That wasn't meant to be her ring. She found it one day and I wasn't ready to let her go,' he said quietly.

' I regret not saying yes to you,' she finally admitted the truth she had been hiding for the past year since Julian asked her to marry him. Her vision began to blur but she had mastered crying without anyone knowing. She had Julian to thank for that.

'I regret leaving you by yourself,' he admitted heavily. Finally his opportunity was now to apologize and he wasn't going to give it up.

'I hate that you left me by myself. I hate it the most out of everything there was to hate,' she said bitterly. That was a sin that she was going to barely be able to forgive. Barely.

' I never wanted to be one of the ones that leave,' he said trying to convince her that she still was the only one for him.

'But you did Lucas you left. You couldn't wait not even for the morning,' she sighed mournfully. The very thought of that day was draining her emotionally as if it happened only this morning.

'Is there any way I could be the one of the few that come back?' he asked suddenly hope filling his heart.

'Do you _want_ to be back,' she half challenged him half accused him.

He peeled himself from the wall he had been leaning on and used a finger to lift her chin. The silent tears were streaking down her face and his stomach twisted at the thought that he didn't know she had been crying. He placed a hand over her heart feeling it quicken underneath his touch. It was still the softest skin he'd ever felt in his life.

'Did I ever really leave?,' he asked her.

She shook her head 'no' following it with a helpless shrug before she finally let out a choked sob. His arms encircled her and he suddenly wished that four years hadn't happened without her more than he ever had.

'We can do whatever you want Peyton. It's all about you, baby, it always has been. If you want to start over, fine, if you don't, fine but it's whatever you like. I'm always yours,' he whispered in her ear.

Her heart soared and sunk at the same time. The soaring part wishing to wrap her arms and lips around him. The sinking part demanding she run. She looked into his deep blue eyes and she knew it was him that she wanted. She knew it was he that held her heart. He stared back at her, his eyes brimming and his brooding squint working hard to keep the water at bay. He was home wherever she was, he was safe again in her grasp. She was debating their fate and he couldn't tell where her head was at it. It chilled his bones that he was so out of touch with her. She reached a shaky hand up to wipe away her tears. God she was such a girl around him.

'I'm done,' she said and he started his heart ready to burst from his chest. She was finishing them off for good. The blood rushed through his head as he dreaded her next several words.

'I'm done thinking that other people's love could ever substitute yours. Or that I could possibly open my heart to someone else who isn't you. I'm done stealing other people's affections to make-up for the absence of yours. I love you Lucas Scott ,so just take me home because I don't think I can take it anymore. I'm done with all that and I can't live without you,' her voice shook out the words in a choked gasp.

Lucas eyes watered as a lone tear trailed down his cheek. She wanted him and only him...nobody else. He lowered his lips down to hers gently returning to the only home he wanted to know. It was a dizzying affect that they both wanted to last forever. Several moments they let it go as their foreheads touched and their noses nuzzled each other in a fated reunion. She smiled at him letting out a soft giggle as he kissed her joyously. He peered down at her his heart racing in sync with hers. The smile had reached her eyes.

-----

Julian peeled himself off the wall outside the laundry room in the home he had bought for him and Peyton and maybe their first child if it ever got that far. He had hoped that maybe the pretty girl that accompanied Lucas Scott this evening was wrong and there was hope for them. He was wrong. He was dead wrong like the stupid song. He had heard it from her mouth a confession he had tried to elicit for months. She was finally done with him. He glanced back to Lindsey who swayed uncertainly as she opened yet another bottle of Corona. He was as dumb as a box of rocks in Harvard square. Then again, if he hadn't left it alone he would just have been more miserable then he had been in the past year. A lifetime of miserable or short term period of intense pain and then maybe something better. He sighed heavily as he heard a soft unforced giggle sail through the laundry room door. He shook his head and finally walked away.

~FIN~

**A/N: I hoped you guys liked it. I gave it an M rating just because of the one line earlier on in the story. I figured dialog like that may warrant it. Better safe than sorry. Review and let me know what you think.**


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